I DREAMT last night of small teapots dancing gaily amongst delicate wonton forests.
It was a good dream.
The whitebait in smoked paprika with citrus aioli are presently my favourite snack in the city
Now back in the land of the waking the memory of the duck broth shooters at Street on 1st is just as beguiling. This dish is scintillatingly subtle, with wafts of gentle spicy flavour and a strong underpinning of meat. The presentation is lovely with laboratory-like little glass mugs and sweet teapots delivered with the grace of a Japanese tea ceremony.
Most of the 'graze' dishes on the menu are exceptional in this handsome open plan modern space in Manchester's most rouge hotel.
The whitebait in smoked paprika with citrus aioli (£5) are presently my favourite snack in the city - if we were to do a Best of Manchester Whitebait article, these are my number one.
The beef and shitake mushroom skewers (£5.50) are a rich delight of big flavours while the pork wontons (£5.50) are delicate with a fine piggy interior.
Crispy whitebait 
Duck broth
Beef and shitake mushrooms Mains came up trumps too.
Try the black cod beautifully seared with a miso tang (£30) or the more elaborate monkfish decorated with a fine razor clam sporting excellent diced chorizo (£26) - although I'm not sure about the inelegant smear with this latter dish.
The caramelised lamb shank (£25) looked the clumsiest of the dishes but lamb shanks always do. The flesh was beautifully cooked, friable, yielding, but it was the revelation of the crispy polenta that elevated the dish to a higher plane. I usually think polenta is a useful substitute for Polyfilla but here the crunch through to the soft cornmeal worked beautifully.
The crispy suckling pork belly (£21) with a graceful rather than aggressive Thai red curry maintained the standard of the mains. A salad (£3.50) of heritage tomatoes brought freshness and succulent moistness to the proceedings.
Monkfish with razor clam
Black cod
Lush tomatoes Desserts included an exquisite passion fruit brulee at £8 and a robust pile of slightly-not-sweet-enough churros with dipping chocolate (£8). Tubs of chocolate also entertained the palate. The quality of the drinks was good with a Bloody Mary (£10) the star of the show, while a bottle of Picpoul at £35 worked on a summer's evening. There is a good range of bottled ales which the bar should extend to include more local varieties.
The meal as a whole was delightful as was the service. The chef is David Spanner, the outspoken Aussie who's been enlivening the city's dining scene for a a few years now. He's been given his head by Innside Manchester and allowed to develop an individual menu, in a Spanish and German hotel chain that normally provides standardised menus. Spanner has mixed the Mediterranean with the East to cracking effect. The gamble in terms of flavour and presentation has paid off.
The restaurant and hotel needs to tweak a few things.
The kitchen has to be careful with the temperature of the food coming from the pass, on a previous occasion the mains were a shade under the right heat. Secondly, the designers need to get rid of that absurd transfer on the window facing Tony Wilson Square. It makes the hotel look like a discount retailer and ruins sitting out on the terrace. The name of the restaurant might be a shade confusing too, hinting at street food when this menu with all mains over £20 is anything but.
Those caveats aside I heartily recommend Street on 1st for its food, service and good looks. The overall quality of the experience is very high. The location is interesting too. After the meal you can nip next door to HOME and enjoy some arthouse cinema or even give the concrete a proper Gordoning (click here). Alternatively you can go home (not HOME) for a kip and sweet dreams - I wish you dancing teapots.
You can follow Jonathan Schofield on Twitter @JonathSchofield or connect via Google+
All scored reviews are unannounced, impartial, paid for by Confidential and completely independent of any commerical relationship.
Street on 1st, Innside Hotel, First Street, Manchester, M15 4RP. 0808 234 1953
Rating: 16/20
Food: 8/10 (duck broth 10, beef & shitake 8, whitebait 8.5, pork wontons 7.5, belly pork 8, monkfish 8, lamb shank 8, cod 8, churros 7, fruit brulee 8)
Service: 4.5/5
Ambience: 3.5/5
Churros
Passion fruit brulee
A good dining room
Innside Hotel
